Europe



There’s good news for culture-loving travellers heading to Sweden: a long list of museums are now free to the public.

National Museum.

National Museum. Image by Cha già José / CC BY-SA 2.0

Back in September, the Swedish government proposed to set aside funds in its budget to introduce free admission to certain state museums. Those new rules are now officially in effect since the start of February, however according to the websites of some museums, free entry started actually began a few days sooner.

The list of museums that now have free admission are: the Army Museum; the Museum of Ethnography; the Swedish Air Force Museum (Flygvapenmuseum) in Linköping; the Hallwyl Museum; the Swedish History Museum; the Royal Coin Cabinet; the Royal Armoury; the Naval Museum in Karlskrona; the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities (Medelhavsmuseet); Moderna Museet in Stockholm and Malmö; Nationalmuseum; the Swedish Museum of Natural History; the Maritime Museum; Skokloster Castle; the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design (ArkDes); the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg; and the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Östasiatiska museet).

Modern Museum in Stockholm.

Modern Museum in Stockholm. Image by SnippyHolloW / CC BY-SA 2.0

The list will open up museums big and small to travellers, like the Moderna Museet, which houses a permanent collection that includes work by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol and many works by Scandinavian artists. The list also includes the Nationalmuseum, however it is closed for renovations until 2018. The Nationalmuseum website notes that temporary exhibits are on display at the Konstakademien (The Academy of Fine Arts) and at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, Stockholm’s art and culture centre. Both of those sites have had free admission since 1 January, according to the website.

Naval Museum.

Naval Museum. Image by Marinmuseum Karlskrona / CC BY 2.0

Some of the country’s museums will retain admission charges, such as Vasamuseet, which is the most visited museum in Scandinavia, according to its website.